Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'
Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific' · Cupressaceae
A low, trailing juniper with soft, blue-green needles, from the sand dunes of Japan. It tolerates salt, heat, drought and poor, sandy soil.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'
The planner designed this bed around shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' × 1, blue-green leaves
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 24, pink
- 3 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 8, yellow
- 4 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 4, pink
- 5 Purple milkweed × 5, purple
- 6 October daphne × 11, pink
- 7 Turkestan onion × 5, white
- 8 Lady tulip × 12, red
- 9 Triteleia 'Queen Fabiola' × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 26% of the edge.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
- Fine leaf against bold. Purple milkweed is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 12 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 10 of the 11 groups (91%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' is the plant there is most of: 24 of the 82. Pink is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 8 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The best juniper carpet for the South and the coast. It drapes well over a wall. It must have drainage; wet clay kills it.
- Groundcover for seaside and sandy soil
- Trailing over walls
- Hot, dry banks
What to plant with shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daylily 'Stella de Oro': adds the flowers, mid June to mid September.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': adds the flowers, mid August to mid October; bold leaves against its fine ones; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
- Pink muhly grass: adds the flowers, mid September to early November; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'
Does shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' need sun or shade?
Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'?
Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' comes from Japan and Sakhalin Island in Russia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Chip': the same job in a bed; 12 in wider.
- Cliff green: the same job in a bed; 24 in narrower, wants average soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat shore juniper 'Blue Pacific'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' look like in winter?
Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' keeps its blue-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' good for bees and butterflies?
Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' is visited by songbirds.
More Juniperus
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Chip' Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Chip'
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Rug' Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii'
- Creeping juniper 'Mother Lode' Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode'
- Japanese garden juniper Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'
- Juniper 'Blue Arrow' Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow'
- Juniper 'Blue Star' Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'
- Juniper 'Gold Cone' Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone'
- Juniper 'Grey Owl' Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl'
- Juniper 'Old Gold' Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'Old Gold'
- Juniper 'Sea Green' Juniperus chinensis 'Sea Green'
- Juniper 'Skyrocket' Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; blue-green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- Japan and Sakhalin Island in Russia
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat, poor soil, pollution, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.